STAYCATION--Kangaroo Zoo

STAYCATION--Museum Pictures

Salt Lake City here we come!!!!!!! We decided to do a staycation this year for our family vacation with the boys. There is a bright side to all Darryl's travel; Thanks to reward points we stayed at the Draper Marriott for free. We started the trip off though by going to 7 Peaks in Provo. It was a cloudy day and so we were pretty cold. Darryl took turns taking Kade and Clint on the "big" slides while the rest of us hung out in the warm spot-- the lazy river. We were praying it would blow over and the sun would come out but it never happened. It rained some but since there was no lightning they let us stay. After a few hours we decided to pack up and hit the hotel. We did stop at IKEA for a quick run through to look at shoe holders. I ended up getting a super cute one that I LOVE LOVE LOVE! Then it was to the hotel to settle in and hit the pool. We were the only ones in the pool and the boys didn't want to leave even though it was now 10 PM. We promised we'd return and that we did-- the next morning at 7 AM! They couldn't wait to get down there again. What is it about a rectangular pool with no features? The boys were in heaven there. After playing for a while we headed to the Discovery Museum. The boys had fun playing at each of the stations. Cole really liked the ball area(the beehive) and dancing on the shuffle board in the life-size game exhibit. Clint enjoyed being able to fully dress up as a mailman. Kade really enjoyed it all. He was completely enthusiastic about everything he was doing. They were so excited that when they got to the helicopter the kids that were heading in the captain seats were asking their mom something so Kade and Clint jumped in front of them and got in the helicopter. Me being the mean mom I am went and made them get out. Darryl had them both stand in the corner for a minute. I made him get a picture of it-- it was rather funny to look at-- sorry boys. Hopefully they won't jump the line again. To their defense the other kids seemed like they weren't going in, but it would have been better for the boys to show some patience and wait to see what the kids who were already there were doing. Kade and Clint did repeatedly ask when we were going to go back to the hotel pool. :) We eventually left and grabbed some lunch then it was off to the hotel, but not to swim. Darryl and Clint took a nap. The plan was for Cole to nap also but I'd forgotten to get Darryl's wallet from him so I woke Cole up when I got it and he wasn't about to go back to sleep, so Kade Cole and I went to IKEA to pick up that shoe holder I'd mentioned. We also filled up the car and tried to kill some time so the guys could get a good nap. After they woke up we were ready for dinner so we went to TGIFridays. The boys were so great on the trip. They kept saying, "Thanks for bringing us here." After dinner we went. . . where else, the POOL! We played and played. Kade learned to swim on his back. Clint learned how to not plug his nose every time he jumps in the water or swims-- this is a big accomplishment in my eyes because I haven't accomplished that yet. :( Cole is very partial to the hot tub and the bubbles there so he spent most of his time sitting on the edge with his toes in the water. I think he liked the fact that the water is much warmer too. He did like going in the pool if Darryl or I were throwing him in the air. After another late night of swimming we turned in. The next morning we were off to Kangaroo Zoo. The boys have been wanting to return to the one in North Salt Lake so they could do the ball shooters with Darryl again. Cole loved the slides and running around on the blow up obstacle courses. We all were pretty wore out by the time we needed to leave. The boys were suppose to only have 5 min. in the ball shooting room but they were doing shift change and let them stay in for 20 min. Yay! :D They never tired. I loved watching the boys minds say, "bwahahaha," as he would go to fill up his ammo bucket. They would aim their guns right at him and show no mercy. They did get him a few times but most of the time in their excitement they would end up aiming poorly. At one point Darryl started shooting the window where Cole was standing and watching them. Cole would giggle every time the ball hit. We were pretty much the only people there playing so it was fun to be able to just run around where we wanted and not have to worry about waiting or watching out for others. Fun times. We needed to get on the road so we could make it to Pickelville Playhouse in Garden City to watch Bandito. We went to last years instalment of Bandito and we all loved it so much we had to include this years episode in our trip. When we planned the trip we were hoping to stay the night near Bear Lake so we could play at the lake in the morning but it was Raspberry Days so there wasn't anything available for a reasonable price so we made plans to just stay in Evenston after the show. Well the show(aka the ch-o as Bandito would say)was excellent. We strapped Cole in his car seat and just sat that on the chair. He loved the show. He clapped and laughed even though he didn't know why I'm sure. :) Kade and Clint love Bandito and I think they love to see all the people laughing too so they chuckled and giggled the whole time. Darryl and I loved it too and wish Garden City wasn't so far away, we'd love to see their version of Joseph. We're pretty sure we'll return again next year for another show with Bandito. It amazes me that he is able to write the shows which have different story lines and music for all these plays. After the show Darryl bought each of the boys Bandito mustaches. Cole was grumpy when we put them on so he cried but I was laughing-- who couldn't when you look at them(see picture). We also bought the CD with the songs and a few clips on it. We have been listening to it non-stop and we still laugh every time we hear a funny part. The boys can pretty much recite the whole CD and I caught them doing so to one of their friends. I'm not sure the friend was enjoying it as much as the boys were. When we arrived at the hotel in Evanston you can likely guess what the boys had in mind-- pool!!!!!! We grabbed some cold cereal from a gas station ate in the room and then hit the pool for a bit and then returned again in the morning. We stayed in the pool for quite a while because we had no other plans for that day. We finally decided we had to leave at some point and the boys weren't going to ask to go so we had to just get out so we could make it out by checkout. We had a great drive to Heber and then it was time for laundry and unpacking-- the trip was officially over. It was nice to be home again though. It's amazing how you really don't have to go far for a vacation for it to be spectacular. We all agree, it was all fabulous--especially the hotel pool. ;D

Sugar Pie

We went and spent some time with my folks. Cole loves to hangout with Grandpa, squeeze his noes, hug him, and crawl on him. I don't think Grandpa enjoys all of that but he does enjoy his little buddy. There is a stuffed Eor in my dad's room that since "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch, you know that I love you. . ." Cole loves to listen to it and dance. He was dancing and dancing then gave grandpa a hug. It was so cute.

7 Peaks Take 1

We finally got to put our pass of all passes to use at 7 Peaks. We've been gone so much this summer and when we've been here so have the thunder storms, so today was the day for our first trip. I wasn't surprised much by how excited the boys were. They loved everything about the water park. We stayed in the 2 toddler pools, the lazy river, and did the toddler tubes. I didn't dare attempt anything else without Darryl there. Cole surprised me a little though. He was SO happy. He would throw a fit every time I'd stand up to take him to a different pool. He thought we were leaving and he did not want to go. I was headed down to Aurora to hangout with Grandma and Grandpa for a few days while Darryl is on a longer trip to Chicago, Ohio, and a couple other places around that area, so we didn't stay at 7 Peaks all day :( we put in a few great hours though. It's so fun to see the boys so happy. I love that. As you can imagine Cole was not happy when we were headed out. We stopped to pick up the bag and put on sandals. He whined for a while then as if he got a brilliant idea he suddenly stopped looked up at me, waved, and said "Bye, Bye." He took off for the pool and almost made it before I snatched him up. He's such a stinker and a cutie. We've planned a trip with Darryl next week. I'm so excited to take them again.

What's Fun Cole?

If you have kids you know it's actually not a good thing when you haven't seen them in a while and it's really quiet. I found Cole taking all his clothes out of his changing table so I grabbed the camera. Little did I know that he had a plan. I just figured he was taking everything out because that's what he does, pulls everything out and just leaves it for me to clean up. :) Well as you can see in the picture he just wanted to climb in the cupboard. Once he was in there he started trying to close the door so I helped him. He just giggled and giggled. Silly boy!

24th Celebration

Jackie and Kelby came to spend some time with us and be apart of our 24th BBQ and fireworks. Darryl had so much fun at the 4th with the fireworks that he went crazy again with the fireworks. :) To his defense part of the reason he got so much is he was trying to find the fireworks we liked on the 4th and so he had to visit each firework stand multiple times to see if they'd gotten them in. The only picture I got was this one which is blurry. :( It was so cute to watch Kelby and Jackie play Moon Dough with the boys. They're great! The firework show brought in a lot of neighbors which made it super fun. We had to do it tonight because Darryl was leaving again tomorrow and he's been gone or we were at the play prior to tonight. We had a cobbler too so everyone enjoyed a good treat and a great show!

Unbelievable!

The boys love the parachute fireworks and so we get a big one each year. This year we decided to take it to the park so they could chase the parachutes whichever way they went. It sounded like a grand idea. Aunt Wendy was here so it made for a perfect time for the boys; they love Aunt Wendy(and all their other Aunts and Uncles too). We let off some smoke bombs and then headed to the park. Mr. Cole was getting rather ornery so I decided to put him in his crib. After he was asleep we walked to the park. Darryl put the firework on the basketball court, making sure not to put it on the grass so it wouldn't tip over like the time we were at the Roberts-- that was funny. Anyway, Kade lit it(with Darryl's help) and then it was eyes to the skys. The first of the 7 shots went up. It had some sparkly crackles that went off went it blasted out the parachutes in the air. That was something new since prior to this year you couldn't have a firework that shot fire higher than 15 ft. I was still gawking at the parachutes when an incredible pain struck my leg. I couldn't figure out what had happened. It felt like I'd just been hit by a baseball bat. Finally it all clicked together and I realized the firework was tipped over. I yelled at Wendy and Clint to run because they were setting next to me. Luckily no one else was hit hard. And luckily I wasn't sitting down or it would have hit my trunk instead of my leg. The force of those shots is so incredible. The percussion sent blood/bruising to the back of my leg. My leg was so swollen. It looked like a giant goose egg all the way down my leg. We were so lucky that I wasn't sitting on the ground holding Cole too, or even that the firework didn't shot a few feet to my right and hit Clint and Wendy. I think it would have caused some serious damage--scary. So I'm thankful my leg got hit-- I guess. :) Darryl and I were headed to the Hale Theatre after the firework and I was in a lot of pain but went anyway. I was so glad I did. The show was called The Hit. It was so good. It was fun to go on a date with my love too. :)
The pictures don't do the injury justice-- it really looked horrific.